‘Brexit is over’ – Britain withdraws from EU internal market – News

From now on, new rules will apply to trade between the island and the mainland. It remains to be seen what consequences this will have.

Great Britain has achieved the definitive break with the European Union. Britain was no longer a member of the international community since the end of January 2020, and as of midnight CET the country is no longer part of the EU internal market or the customs union.

«This is a great moment for this country. We have freedom in our hands and now it is up to us to make the most of it, ”Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in his New Year’s address to the British people. Britain can now do things differently, “and if necessary better than our friends in the EU,” Johnson said.

However, due to the crown, the prime minister had to give up a great Brexit jubilee: Johnson had announced that he would spend the historic hour with his family at his official Downing Street residence in London.

Now also financially divorced

At the beginning of the year, the eleven-month transitional phase since leaving the EU ended, during which much of the same rules continued to apply. So now the financial divorce is complete.

Shortly before the turn of the year, the British parliament approved the ratification law of the economic agreement with the EU presented by Johnson in a few hours. The Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II, approved the law with her “Royal Consent”.

On New Year’s Eve, the contract was officially published in the EU legal bulletin. A spokesman for the German presidency of the Council of the EU announced that it could be applied provisionally from 1 January 2021 as planned. “A deal was avoided, just in time,” he tweeted. On the EU side, there was not enough time for ratification in the European Parliament. It should continue in the spring.

No fees, but with controls

Britain left the EU at the end of January 2020 after 47 years of membership. The trade and association agreement negotiated with the EU at the last minute is now aimed at avoiding a hard break.

France wants to thoroughly control

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Legend:Reuters

The same rules will apply to both sides of the English Channel, for example when it comes to product and food safety. But British companies will have to demonstrate compliance with European standards. That is why France announced that it will insist on exhaustive controls from the turn of the year. “We have to control the British products that come to us,” said Secretary of State for Europe Clément Beaune on channel Europe 1. Food or industrial products must comply with all applicable regulations. The French state recruited some 1,300 people to guarantee these controls. Observers fear that checkpoints could lead to wait times for trucks and traffic jams. Supply chains are also unlikely to work as well as they used to, at least initially.

The most important point is that no customs duties or quantity restrictions will be applied in the trade of goods. However, there will be merchandise controls at the border.

In addition, the nearly 1,250-page contract regulates many other issues, including fisheries and cooperation in energy, transport, justice and police. The UK remains subject to European standards in several areas.